4 min readAm I lazy for needing nine hours, or is that real?Needing nine hours is usually real, not laziness: genes like PER3, CRY1 and CLOCK shape your sleep need and natural body clock, so some people are genuinely long sleepers or night types who require more sleep to function well.
Reviewed· 3 sources· 3 genes
3 min readWhy does a stressful week flatten me when my colleague bounces back?Stress flattens you more than your colleague partly because of genes like COMT, which sets how fast you clear stress chemicals, and FKBP5, which tunes your cortisol stress response, so some people recover from pressure more slowly even under the same load.
Reviewed· 3 sources· 2 genes
4 min readWhy does caffeine make me anxious even in tiny amounts?Caffeine can make you anxious in tiny amounts mainly because of the ADORA2A gene, which makes some brains highly sensitive to caffeine's effect on adenosine receptors, often combined with CYP1A2 slow metabolism that keeps caffeine in your system longer.
Reviewed· 3 sources· 2 genes
4 min readWhy do I crave sugar when I am stressed or sleep-deprived?You crave sugar when stressed or sleep-deprived because cortisol from stress and a hormone shift from poor sleep, raising hunger-signalling ghrelin and lowering fullness-signalling leptin, push you toward quick energy, with FTO gene variants making some people crave more strongly.
Reviewed· 3 sources· 3 genes